More than 200 people attended the grand opening of the Esports Arena at Cal State San Bernardino on May 28, which featured PC gaming competitions between CSUSB’s Esports Club and teams from Norco City College and UC Riverside.

The CSUSB Esports Arena,  located in the Santos Manuel Student Union South next to the gamer’s lounge, is one of the first in the California State University system, said Jessica Madrigal, leader of Esport efforts at CSUSB. There are four in the CSU, Madrigal said.

The arena hours are to be determined, but it will be open for casual play and closed during competitions with a spectating opportunity. The arena features 20 Alienware PCs, a streaming corner and spectating area. It was funded by SMSU, CSUSB Student Success Initiative and Associated Students Inc.

Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports also mirrors the experience of watching a sporting event, except instead of watching a physical event, spectators watch video gamers compete against each other.

In the first match playing video game Valorant against the Norco City College Valorant team, the CSUSB Esports club lost. But in the second match, the CSUSB Esports Club beat the UC Riverside COD team playing Call of Duty, Madrigal said.

After the matches, a tournament was held with about 40 participants in the Super Smash Brothers Bracket, which was open to CSUSB students and the community, Madrigal said. CSUSB alumnus Jon Cuevas was the winner.

For more information, contact Jessica Madrigal at jmadrigal@csusb.edu

The audience watches on a big screen at the Esports Arena as the CSUSB Esports Club (left, on the computer keyboards) competes on a match.
The audience watches on a big screen at the Esports Arena as the CSUSB Esports Club (left, on the computer keyboards) competes on a match.